Out of the Earth Others Shall Grow
Pastor David T. Elms Preached on 8/30/2026
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49:19
Summary
Pastor David T. Elms explores the story of Job to show that the 'mire' of our most difficult trials is not the end of our story, but the very soil God uses to grow strength, purpose, and new life. Just as the rush needs the mud to thrive, our hardest seasons can become the birthplace of our greatest growth if we remain rooted in God.
Key points
- •Job's friend Bildad incorrectly interpreted Job's suffering as evidence of hidden sin, assuming that righteousness always equals immediate prosperity.
- •The 'mire' (mud and decay) is not a sign of God's rejection, but the very environment necessary for a 'rush' (strength and purpose) to grow.
- •History shows that strength is often forged in hardship, as seen in the Continental Army's survival through the brutal winter at Valley Forge.
- •Faith requires a 'ministry of presence' rather than a 'ministry of answers' when others are suffering.
- •Believers must resist the divisive and inflammatory nature of media and politics, choosing instead to be on the Lord's side above all worldly labels.
Scripture
Trials
Purpose
Hope
Perseverance
Character
Life application
Identify a 'mire' situation in your life right now - a place of frustration, loss, or confusion - and consciously invite God to use that environment to grow something new rather than seeing it as a sign of His absence. Practice the 'ministry of presence' this week by simply listening to someone in pain without trying to offer a quick fix or spiritual explanation.
Reflection questions
- In what ways have you felt 'disowned by the ground' or defined by your hardest days?
- How can we discern the difference between a friend who offers true consolation and a 'comforter' who offers condemnation?
- When faced with the 'mire' of life, is your first instinct to doubt God's goodness or to look for what is being grown?
- How can you better guard your heart against the inflammatory influences of social media and election season rhetoric?
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Full transcript
0:00appreciative of that and thank you very
0:00very much. Amen. You may be seated in
0:01the name of [music] the Lord. Uh I do
0:04have a message to preach to you today.
0:08I've I've considered requesting myself
0:10to sing,
0:13but following Walter Hawkins, I don't
0:15know if I can do all of that.
0:17And uh I hear an encourager in the
0:20house.
0:22Um,
0:24but uh I don't know. It may not be good
0:27for some of y'all because y'all don't
0:28believe in AI music. So, you'll have to
0:31um you'll have to not pay attention if
0:34you don't believe in AI music. Hit it,
0:36maestro.
0:38Dear Lord, I'll be a witness
0:43if you will help my weakness.
0:50I know [singing] that I'm not worthy,
0:55Lord, of thee.
1:02But eyes of faith,
1:05I see thee
1:08upon the cross
1:11of Calvary.
1:14Dear Lord, I cry.
1:18Let me [singing and music] thy servant
1:21be.
1:26I'll stand for thee,
1:30dear Jesus.
1:33Though death may come my way,
1:39I'll spread the gospel [music]
1:42to the fallen
1:46down here. [singing]
1:51But if
1:53it be thy will, [singing] Lord,
1:57to go across
2:01the sea.
2:04Oh Lord, [music] help me to be willing
2:08to say yes. [singing]
2:13This is the part you all know. So I'm
2:16singing Jesus
2:19[singing]
2:20use me.
2:22Oh Lord, [singing]
2:24[music]
2:24don't refuse me.
2:29For surely
2:31there's a work that I can do.
2:38Even you can do it. Oh, and [singing]
2:42even though it's humble,
2:47Lord, help my [singing] will to crumble.
2:51[music]
2:54And though the cost is great, I'll
2:59[music] work for you.
3:05Oh,
3:06and even [singing]
3:08though it's humble,
3:13Lord, [music] help
3:15my will to crumble.
3:19And though [singing and music]
3:21the cost
3:23is great, will work
3:27for you.
3:38I told my wife now that I have access to
3:41AI music,
3:44look out earth
3:46because now I'm just going to show up
3:48with whatever song the Lord put on my
3:50heart and I don't have to worry about
3:52them learning it. I just put it into
3:55sunno and I get the music the way I like
3:58it, the fancy jazz chords, the finger
4:02work and then I just sing. We'll be
4:06putting out an album in a little while.
4:12I'm so thankful I have a happy church.
4:15When I say I have it, it's the Lord's
4:17church. But I'm blessed to be a part of
4:18this. I'm going to speak for just a few
4:21moments on out of the earth others shall
4:24grow. [snorts] When you come to church,
4:27you're walking through the time in which
4:31um we're assigned to live. And every
4:33time has its challenges. I love to go
4:35back and see the challenges of the 70s
4:38and the problems that were facing
4:40America back then. I love to research
4:44history and see the problems that were
4:47manifested through history. Because you
4:50can be hijacked in the tyranny of the
4:52immediate by recognizing that things are
4:57going wrong right now that will make you
4:59think this is the worst it's ever been.
5:03And history will teach you it's not the
5:06worst it's ever been. Our forefathers
5:09went through tremendous trial and
5:12struggle. And when you understand that,
5:16you learn how to appreciate the elders.
5:19You never look at them uh skew as if
5:22they haven't accomplished an awful lot.
5:25You're seeing them when they're not in
5:27their strength. But when they were in
5:29their strength, they were plowing the
5:32same kind of rocky soil that you are
5:36required to plow. And it always is a
5:39beautiful thing about a church when they
5:40don't try to just reach a certain
5:43demographic. As if when you reach a
5:46certain age, you're no longer a part of
5:48that church. No, our elders are going to
5:51be celebrated here all the way through.
5:55Most of the women that are elders in
5:57this church only are about 35,
6:00but I am honored to pastor a bunch of 35
6:03year old elderly women. And uh it's a
6:06blessing to have them as a part of this
6:10blessed congregation.
6:12Uh, but I want you all to know the young
6:15people will always
6:17reverence you in a godly reverence and
6:21appreciate you and never ride off the
6:23road that you have walked to get this
6:27nation to us or to get our dreams to us
6:31or this gospel to us. And when you come
6:34to church, you're trying to maintain a
6:38level of wisdom. And here you ought to
6:41be able to figure out a little bit how
6:44to navigate better the week that is
6:46ahead of you. And life has always been
6:49filled with change. But now, how do we
6:52raise our kids in this hour when there
6:55are so much that is occurring around us?
6:58Also, when we're seeing the mental
7:00cortex, the frontal cortex of our
7:03children being impacted by the phones
7:06that they hold where they no longer have
7:09a social skill, they no longer know how
7:11to
7:13back and forth communicate with people.
7:16They would rather sit and stare at a
7:18little 3-in screen because it supposedly
7:22makes them feel safe. Now, I do that
7:25myself. I look at a three-inch screen,
7:27so I don't want to come and act like I'm
7:30better than these young people. But I
7:32will tell you that if you're not
7:34careful, this AI generated addictive
7:38influence machines,
7:40what that is wired into your Instagram
7:44and into your Tik Tok and into your uh
7:48social media that will hold you whether
7:51you know it or not. You'll look up and
7:53you will have spent an hour or two and
7:55not even realize that your brain is
7:58being rewired. And for somebody like me,
8:01it's going to be hard to rewire this old
8:03thing. But our kids are literally being
8:07wired and parents have got to carry the
8:10heavy load. And you uh us elders,
8:13listen, I'm speaking for us right now.
8:14Don't look down our nose at our young
8:17parents as if we were so much smarter
8:20than they are. They're managing a world
8:23that's got a whole different league of
8:25pressures on how do you raise kids
8:28without letting them stand in this place
8:31of not being with their comrades at
8:33school and yet not being affected with
8:36this addictive AI influence machine that
8:40they get so young. And then when you
8:42meet somebody who hasn't allowed their
8:44child to have a phone when they're 20
8:46years old, then don't don't feel badly.
8:49don't feel like they missed something. I
8:51was raised without a television. I'm
8:53scarred for life.
8:57And uh and so that that that process it
9:00somehow I escaped the scarring. You
9:03know, I I made it without knowing what
9:05Warner Brothers was all about. Somehow I
9:08survived it. And and these are the kind
9:10of decisions that parents have got to
9:12make nowadays. But uh we go to the word
9:16of God for clarity to help us make sound
9:20sure decisions right now with what is
9:23coming ahead of us. And what troubles me
9:26shouldn't trouble me. It ought to be
9:28expected. But I've got to bring it to
9:30you. Every election season ought to be a
9:34time when you are hyper vigilant to not
9:37allow headlines and media to inflame
9:40your brain. Because I don't care which
9:43side of the spectrum you are on. They
9:46are all spending millions and millions
9:49and millions of dollars, even billions
9:52will be spent to wire you to walk and
9:55pull a a whatever a one-armed bandit to
9:59vote for them. Nobody does that anymore.
10:01No, I vote too. You got to fill in the
10:04holes and draw good circles. But the to
10:08make you do that and be angry at the
10:10other side and it is not of God. You can
10:14lose your testimony during this election
10:16season and you get inflamed yourself.
10:19And I'm praying by the Holy Ghost that
10:21you will catch yourself before you show
10:24up at work too inflamed by the news
10:27media that all they're trying to do is
10:29make you think that God's on both of
10:31their sides.
10:34God's not on any of their sides. God's
10:37on God's side.
10:40>> It's like Joshua met the captain of the
10:43host of the Lord before the battle of
10:45Jericho and he said, "Uh, whose side are
10:47you on?"
10:49>> And he said, "I'm on the Lord's side." I
10:52thought it was just one or the other.
10:53No, I'll tell you, there's another side
10:55and it's the only side that's going to
10:57win, and that is the Lord's side. Who's
11:00on the Lord's side?
11:03>> [applause and cheering]
11:04>> So, I rebuke anybody in this house who
11:07starts thinking that the Republican
11:09party represents the Lord's side. And I
11:12rebuke anybody in this house who starts
11:15thinking that the Democrat party is on
11:17the Lord's side. I want to tell you
11:19who's on the Lord's side. Those people
11:21who walk in this word. And I want to
11:24walk in all of it, not just the part I
11:26like.
11:28>> That's good preaching, pastor.
11:31That's good preaching.
11:34And so we come to this book of Job that
11:37Sister Kathy hates for me to preach
11:38from. Through my 36 years of being her
11:41pastor, she's always said, "Oh Lord, he
11:43go he's gone to Job. He's talking about
11:45me." And if you don't know Sister Kathy,
11:48get to know Brother Shawn and you'll get
11:49to know Sister Kathy. Because he got his
11:52humor from his mama. She may be the
11:55greatest comedian in this house right
11:56now. Uh but uh sister sister Kathy
12:00always she would walk up and warn me
12:01don't preach on Job anymore. It's like
12:04who do you think I listen to? I don't
12:05listen to you. The Bible told me not to
12:07be afraid of the faces of men. I'm not a
12:09scared of you. [laughter]
12:11I'm afraid of God.
12:14But uh you know I do feel the pain
12:16because Job is one of those complex
12:19books. And yet there's wisdom that comes
12:22out of this book. And so we we go and we
12:25hear about the story of Job. You know
12:27the story of Job. He had uh this loss
12:29period in his life where in just a few
12:31days he lost all of his children. They
12:34all died. He also lost they were the
12:37last one to be taken. He lost all of his
12:39wealth before he lost his children. The
12:42loss of his children was the last report
12:45on this day of devastation. And of
12:48course his wife is sitting there
12:49assessing it. And I don't want to blame
12:51her. I don't want everybody to walk
12:53around acting like you're better than
12:55Job's wife. That's a dangerous place to
12:57be. Have you ever lost all your
12:59children? And today, listen, God's a big
13:01boy. He can handle people who are angry
13:03with him. Some people act like they run
13:05into somebody angry with God and they
13:07want to rebuke them because they're
13:08angry with God. Well, have you been
13:10through that what they've been through?
13:13>> The Bible records people that are angry
13:15with God. Why do you think God's
13:17bothered by your temper?
13:19>> He's a big boy. He wears some big boy
13:21pants. You think you got on big boy
13:24point pants. God's got on the big boy
13:26pants. He can handle this stuff. You get
13:29around with somebody who knows what
13:30they're about. When you're all fired up
13:32and mad, it doesn't rile them up. Why?
13:34Because they got on the big boy pants
13:36right now. They understand there's a
13:38time for cause of anger and there's time
13:42for frustration. And of course, Job
13:44wasn't going to do what she proposed.
13:46And that's reason she needed a good
13:48husband like like my wife does. She
13:50needs a good husband to straighten her
13:52out every once in a while. She gets
13:53wound up and I say, "Whoa, you speak
13:55like a foolish woman."
13:58[laughter]
14:02Now, all you newlyweds, don't try that.
14:07You newlywed, don't go home acting like
14:10you're going to quote scripture.
14:13Just a little sideline.
14:15Sister Sister Loretta knows. She knows.
14:18These young men, they got to learn,
14:20don't they, Sister Loretta? Amen. And
14:23so, uh, we we've got this this time that
14:26these three comforters, that's what they
14:28were called. When you analyze, and I'm
14:31not going to analyze them all. I'm going
14:32to analyze one today. But they came to
14:34Job and they first of all sat for seven
14:37days without saying a thing. You know,
14:40I'm the lead chaplain for the Davy
14:42Police Department, and I'm so honored to
14:43be that. But one of the first things
14:45that they'll teach you when you're in
14:47training for chapy is that it's not a
14:49ministry of answers. It's not a ministry
14:52of evangelism. It's not a ministry of
14:55words. It's a ministry of presence.
14:58There's times that you just walk into
15:00situations that you just need to zip it.
15:03>> There's some people that think they got
15:04to always have an answer for every
15:06situation. Some situations do not have
15:08an answer.
15:10>> Why don't you just sit there and have a
15:12ministry of presence? You can't answer
15:14all of the things that you're going to
15:16go through in life. And there's
15:17sometimes that you think, "Well, I've
15:19always had an answer. stop. [screaming]
15:23Sometimes there's not an answer. You
15:25just got to put the next foot in front
15:26of of the other.
15:28>> Sometimes you're walking and the life
15:31that you're going through hits you so
15:33squarely in the nose that all you can do
15:34is barely stand.
15:37And uh you know it's brother Granthm,
15:40sister Grantham was telling me about how
15:42he he well I know he got the Holy Ghost
15:44just the other day. I was here when he
15:45did and he got another touch and his
15:47wife Sweet Kimberly got it the same day
15:50and and uh yet the day after he finally
15:53had that breakthrough which happened at
15:54work which if you hadn't got the Holy
15:56Ghost yet listen it's for you. You will
15:59speak with language that you have never
16:00spoken before. Nobody's going to sit
16:03before a chalkboard and say say la cha
16:05cha na na. I'm not going to do it. I
16:08know some churches that have done that
16:10in the past and others want to help
16:12people so they teach them how to say
16:14Yamaha real fast or who stole the keys
16:18to my Honda. When you say that fast, it
16:21sounds like the Holy Ghost. Who stole
16:22the key to my Honda?
16:24>> Yeah,
16:26that is not the Holy Ghost.
16:29>> But you might sound like that when you
16:32get the Holy Ghost because it's going to
16:34be a sound nobody taught you. The Bible
16:36says, which by the way we believe the
16:38Bible, not what men say, what the word
16:40says. Out of your innermost being shall
16:43flow rivers of living water, and this
16:46spake he of the spirit. He wasn't
16:49talking about a field in a mood. This
16:51was the spirit of God that was for us.
16:53Well, so that ministry of silence uh was
16:58upon these uh these three friends of
17:02Job. And of course, seven days of saying
17:05nothing. But the problem about it was
17:08when they opened their mouth, they did
17:11not open it with a lot of wisdom. At
17:13least they gave him a silent week
17:15because if you cannot sit, please do not
17:18speak. But the question was that was
17:22facing Job. Is there anything left to my
17:26life? It was terrible. I I hope no one
17:30has ever come to that place, but I know
17:33you have. Is there anything left my
17:36life? You don't know the latest report
17:38I've read. You don't know the things I
17:40I've got facing me. Is there anything
17:42left to my life? And so, we come today
17:46to get a little wisdom from the word of
17:48the Lord. Are you ready? Bill Dad, don't
17:51name your child that Bill Dad the shoe
17:54height. He was the second man that spoke
17:57to Job and each of his speeches got
18:01shorter. He started with a 22 verse
18:04speech and then the next one it's lost
18:07some spirit and it's down to 21 verses
18:10and then his last speech is just six
18:13verses long and it's almost a speech of
18:16exhaustion. Billad was the grandson they
18:20believe of Abraham. So he had the
18:23pedigree of a great man of faith, but he
18:27didn't have any of the altar of Abraham
18:30in his heart. He has the pedigree, but
18:33he doesn't have the sacrifice. To
18:36understand there's purpose in life. It
18:39doesn't matter who you are born to or
18:42who you're not born to. You are born
18:45with purpose. And purpose is a discovery
18:49that every man and woman of God will
18:52make. And until you become a child of
18:54God, you may not really know your
18:56purpose. You may have thought your
18:57purpose was defined by UPS. And I'm not
19:00picking on you, brother Dan. I worked
19:02there, too. But I I enjoyed a a work at
19:05at UPS. I I'm We won belt of the month
19:08in the month of December. Don't mess
19:09with me. Y'all don't even know what that
19:11means. PD3 won belt of the month, and I
19:13was the fireman on that belt. I'm
19:15bragging on myself right now. Everywhere
19:17there was a jam, they would take me out
19:19of my truck and go help me break that
19:21jam. And then when the sorders couldn't
19:23do it, I went to the high sword or the
19:25bottom sword. Now computers do all that.
19:27Look, you're looking at a mean computer.
19:30Listen, this is Justin. Don't laugh. I'm
19:32a mean computer. Uh, it's a 486, I
19:36think, is the model. Or it might have
19:38been Burrow's machine. Um, but y'all
19:41don't even know those words. Only the
19:43old folks know what I'm talking about
19:44there. Those are real good machines.
19:47[laughter] Now that brought up my
19:49smoker's cough.
19:52[laughter]
19:54And uh so here here's my point to you.
19:57His speech is entirely
20:02shorthand for I haven't been talking to
20:05God. Because he says inquire I pray thee
20:09of the former age.
20:12and prepare thyself to search of their
20:14fathers is Job 88. He has inherited
20:18sayings about God. He knew nice addages.
20:22He knew how to tell somebody a nice
20:25phrase, but he didn't know anything
20:28about God himself because he's sitting
20:32here with how he's inherited. He he says
20:37that the righteous are supposed to
20:39prosper according to the former
20:41generation. But then he concludes that
20:44sufferers have to be sinners. And
20:47certainly the conclusion of buildad to
20:50Job and it was one of the crulest verses
20:53in your Bible. Job 8:4. It may be the
20:57crulest verse in your entire Bible. He
21:01was talking about the loss of Job's
21:03kids. And he said it may have been and
21:07then he was talking about the Lord must
21:09have been that the Lord cast them away
21:12for their transgressions.
21:15I just want to give you a hint. If
21:17you're going to see anybody whose
21:18children just died, [snorts]
21:21don't tell them
21:24the Lord cast them away because of their
21:26transgressions. All right, Bill. Dad did
21:29that. I don't want anybody in this house
21:31to do that.
21:33could be one of the crulest things in
21:34all the world. It's not time to say
21:37that. Even if you've sat with them seven
21:40days, don't say that. And so, Billad is
21:43sitting here essentially saying, uh, if
21:47if you were pure and upright, verse six,
21:51surely now he would awake for thee. He
21:53knew God worked. But apparently Job
21:56wasn't up to God working for him because
22:00he said, "If thou weren't pure and
22:02upright, surely now he would awake for
22:04thee and make the habitation of thy
22:07righteousness prosperous."
22:10Uh Billad had a word from the Lord
22:13though because several chapters later in
22:16Job 42:7, God makes a verdict on these
22:19fellows and he said to them, "You have
22:22not spoken of me things that are right.
22:26[snorts] You spoke about me and you
22:29acted like you spoke for me and you
22:32filled your mouth with righteous
22:34language,
22:36but you were not speaking for me." And
22:39so Job is a book that is written for
22:43more the wouldbe comforter than the one
22:47needing comfort. If you're the one going
22:49through the trouble, Job probably wasn't
22:52written for you as much as it's written
22:55for the one who thinks that they were
22:57coming to comfort you. Because
23:00explanations
23:01can turn from consolation to
23:04condemnation.
23:06And pretty soon before you're done, you
23:08can have left people condemned.
23:12And truth is that all of us have sinned.
23:18I know you don't want to hear this, but
23:20all of us have fallen short of the glory
23:24of God.
23:25>> And all of us can feel like I didn't do
23:29a sin like them, though.
23:33And this is where the Lord would say,
23:35"Wait,
23:37the best way to come to me is with
23:38humility.
23:40>> You don't come with your patches of
23:42accomplishment." The best thing to do is
23:45just come stand at the foot of the cross
23:46with all the rest of us. Because we're
23:49all equal at the foot of the cross.
23:51>> I know at the church, I've got this
23:5318inch platform to help you see me. The
23:57church thought you ought to be able to
23:58see me, but I would be just as happy
24:00preaching from down here because I want
24:03to tell you, there's no big us and
24:06little 's and no big's and little us in
24:09this house.
24:10>> We all need this altar.
24:13>> We all need it. When I'm not preaching,
24:15I want to be one of the first ones in
24:17it. Why? Because I need it. Next, I want
24:22a church that loves it. Because there's
24:24something powerful about getting out of
24:26my place and saying, "I'm going to go
24:28down and talk to the Lord a little bit
24:30and I don't care that other people know
24:32that I'm going to do it and I'm going to
24:34get down where it doesn't feel as
24:35comfortable and I'm going to stand and
24:37maybe somebody over here will start
24:39crying and this one, but I'm going to
24:40get up in the middle of it." They do it
24:42at rock and roll concerts. They call it
24:44the pit. They get down in the pit and
24:47they pay a lot of money to get in the
24:49pit. But when you get to the house of
24:51God, we don't have the pit. This is this
24:53is the the launch pad I'm going to call
24:56it. This is where you you launch from.
24:58But why do we keep this big open space
25:00up here when we could be seating people
25:02coming all the way up here and we could
25:04have more people in this place. Why?
25:06Because we have planned on a response to
25:09the word of the Lord.
25:11>> And I want to know Lord, not only am I
25:14listening to the word, it's not just a
25:17speech that a preacher is saying, but
25:20it's it's deeper than that. It's you
25:22moving me. And so finally this would be
25:26comforter
25:28uh had said the word. He said that can
25:31the rush
25:33grow up without the meer? And it's it's
25:36an amazing metaphor. The rush is what
25:40civilization came from. And Billad's
25:43trying to sound real fancy. He actually
25:46uses a word from Egypt. And uh uh Job
25:49and those fellows were not in Egypt. But
25:51he grabs the most impressive imagery
25:54that he could find. And he borrows this
25:58word, can the rush grow up without the
26:01meer? And he is trying to impress at
26:04this moment. Russes were clothing for a
26:08poor man's back. Russes were part of the
26:11economic strength of uh Egypt at that
26:15time. Its roots were dried and burned
26:18for a poor man's fuel. Its stalks were
26:21platted into sails so that rich
26:23merchants could sail the seas. The many
26:26uses of rush uh was manifold. Empty
26:31bellies were satisfied by putting the
26:33pith of rush into soup and it would fill
26:38the poor's bellies. It is also what they
26:41made scrolls out of. This this rush,
26:46this papus papipus uh papamus
26:51papyrus,
26:56>> I appreciate you talking back to me the
26:58whole time. I can talk back to you, too.
27:01>> I love you, too, Bubba. And and the
27:04papyrus. Thank you, brother Andrew.
27:07Papyrus. Glory. I'm getting better.
27:12Rush is the best word. Some of y'all
27:14think that's just a rock and roll band.
27:17Y'all been on the Rush tour recently.
27:20But Rush was what he said. Can the Rush
27:23grow? This great economic force, can it
27:26grow without the meer? And the fact was
27:33that you're not going to get the rush
27:36without the meer.
27:38And mireer is another part of the
27:41metaphor because under the root and the
27:43fiber of the growing green rush is muck,
27:47mushy mireer, a dark substance that was
27:51created where nobody could see it. It
27:54was made by fermenting death of once
27:57living things. Storms have come and
28:00blown leaves down and the water from the
28:03sky and has mixed with the fountains
28:05from the earth. And it has mucked
28:08through this mulch and leaf and bark and
28:12silty slime and salt mixtures and it
28:17still is something that you don't
28:18necessarily want to step in. But the
28:21meer which is not celebrated, which is
28:24hidden, which [clears throat] takes a
28:25lot of things dying to make it, this
28:28still has purpose to give forth
28:30something that has not yet lived. And so
28:33Billad asks, can the rush grow up with
28:36the mireer? And of course you and I
28:38know, no, it cannot. But Billad is not
28:42trying to be kind when he says this.
28:44It's been preached kind, but he is
28:47trying to say, "No, here's what I want
28:49you to know, Job." He goes on to say,
28:51"It withers before any other herb." So,
28:54its paths are all that forget God, and
28:57the hypocrites hope shall perish. And
29:00through the side of his mouth, he's
29:02saying to Job, "Hey, Buster Brown, your
29:05hopes are gone. You're wicked. This has
29:08happened to you because you're a bad
29:10person." And he goes on to say, "Job,
29:13you're torn from your place and the very
29:16ground is disowning you." He says, "I
29:19have never seen thee." Then with a
29:21curled lip, he said, "Behold, this is
29:24the joy of his way." And he's speaking
29:26with sarcasm. And he says, "Out of the
29:28earth others shall grow." And through
29:31this sarcastic
29:33way, he's saying, "You know what? You
29:37can be replaced. So just deal with it.
29:41Uh but that's not what God wanted Job to
29:44hear because you know the end of this
29:46story, it's [snorts] not one of
29:49replacement. It's one of reproduction.
29:53And when the accuser comes to you and I
29:57to tell you that your days are numbered,
30:00here's the truth. I don't know what
30:02you're facing this week. I don't know
30:04what you've been facing at home with
30:06your family. I don't know. But I know
30:09people go through stuff in this life. I
30:11hope none of you are going through
30:13anything tough. I know we're real good
30:15at pretending that we're not. But if you
30:17are going through it and you hear the
30:20kind of language that say your best days
30:23are behind you and that you ought to
30:26just quit hoping because maybe you
30:29deserve what's come your way and you
30:33lost that job and maybe you deserve it.
30:35And you know what? There might be some
30:37facts in how much you deserve to lose
30:40it, but that doesn't mean God is
30:43finished writing your story. Hell wants
30:47you to think this is final. But heaven
30:51says God can take the meer and out of
30:55the meer he can produce something that
30:58is strong and that is powerful and that
31:01is mighty and that is great. And it is
31:04in the middle of your worst days that
31:08God can [screaming] redefine your
31:10tomorrow and say, "It's not over." And
31:14you want to know why I dance when I come
31:16to the house of God? Because I've had
31:19some bad days when the enemy told me
31:22it's over for you. I remember I had a
31:25day that was so tough for my family.
31:28Sister Elms or musicians come. It was so
31:30tough and it was one of the worst days
31:33of my life. And I I went through it with
31:36my wife and at the end of that day, I
31:38told my wife, I said, "Babe, what we're
31:40going to do is we're going to take the
31:44kids to Sawrass today." In fact, if I
31:47would have known I was going to use
31:48this, I would have brought it with me. I
31:50said, "We're going to take the kids to
31:52Sawrass today." Because while this is
31:55one of the worst days of my life and I
31:57have cried in times I didn't want to cry
32:01and I embarrassed myself at this moment
32:05and uh people had compassion on me and
32:07mercy on on me at that moment. I said,
32:10"We're taking the kids to Sawrass." And
32:13they had a little place out there that
32:15would take your family picture and put
32:18it in a glass uh thing and it like 3D
32:21and you can see a 3D image and it's got
32:25a little light that changes colors and
32:26it'll turn and it shows your family. And
32:29I'll never forget it because I I told I
32:32my wife didn't know what I was all going
32:34on in my head. She was wonderful. She
32:36was there with me. She still believed in
32:38me. And uh and I thank God for that. But
32:42I remember telling the devil, I said,
32:44"Listen, Buster Brown, on this worst
32:47day, I'm making this plaster piece, this
32:50this glass piece, and all the rest of my
32:53life, I'm going to hold this day up,
32:55this block of glass, and my kids don't
32:57even have a clue. They saw it at the
33:00house, but they didn't know what I went
33:01through that day. They probably still
33:03don't know to this very day." Uh what's
33:07that baby?
33:09Oh, she wants to be clear. It wasn't
33:11sin [laughter]
33:16baby.
33:18I'm so glad you brought that forward.
33:22I It wasn't sin.
33:26Okay. It wasn't sin. Thank you, baby.
33:28The mic's not on on purpose.
33:37But I remember and every time I see that
33:40thing up in my house right now, sitting
33:42right beside the chair where I sit, I
33:44look up at and I say, "Devil, [snorts]
33:47can the rush grow without the mer?"
33:53Now, I know this is my story and it
33:56brings tears to my eyes, but you got
33:59them too.
34:01You got those moments you didn't even
34:03tell people where you were. It was just
34:06mire.
34:08It was just muck.
34:11It was death stacked on top of death.
34:14The tears of the sky had melded with the
34:17fountains of the deep and had mixed into
34:20some briny
34:22mixture.
34:23All it felt like was it's over. It's
34:26dark.
34:28Our
34:31God [snorts]
34:33takes those days
34:35and brings forth the most beautiful
34:38of instruments.
34:41The reed can be turned to a pipe that
34:45can play a song that nobody has ever
34:49thought that it came out of the mire.
34:53The song of your life is not over. And
34:56when we go through things in our life,
34:59we think it's over. It's not over. We're
35:02entering into family month next Sunday.
35:05Brother Scotty Slate and the former
35:07missionary to El Salvador who is now a
35:11very, very dynamic leader in our
35:15movement and is the secretary of all
35:17global missions. Every missionary have
35:20to get all of their logistical
35:22challenges solved by brother Sllayton.
35:24So he knows the condition of situations
35:27all around the entire globe for our
35:29movement. He'll be here next Sunday. But
35:32uh we're going to start family month by
35:35realizing families are in different
35:38places of definition.
35:40But we're not going to go into this
35:42thing acting like just because we had a
35:44hard spot, a difficult moment, that it's
35:49over in that moment. We're going to pass
35:52this message on from generation
35:56to generation. We're going to tell the
35:59stories of old. We're going to not let a
36:02hard moment define us. We're not going
36:05to let the mire of the day say it's
36:09finished for us. And we got to pass it
36:11on to our children. I know this is our
36:1420 250th year as a nation. And I'm not
36:19building America. Yes, I'm pastoring the
36:22church and the people where I pastor.
36:24I'm not just preaching the gospel of
36:26America. But sometimes we forget what
36:28made this nation. Valley Forge was a
36:32huge moment in this nation's history.
36:35And if you've been to some teacher in
36:37your teaching that has told you all the
36:39bad things about America, let me correct
36:42them because they're teaching in a land
36:45that's here because of amazing people
36:49that bled and died and fought to get it
36:53right.
36:56To get it right. [applause]
36:59Valley Forge. In the winter of 1777,
37:03there was 11,000 soldiers that staggered
37:07into the frozen hollow just before
37:09Christmas outside of Philadelphia. They
37:13were so destitute of shoes that
37:15Washington himself wrote that if you
37:18wanted to track his army, you might
37:21could follow them by the blood from
37:24their feet that was left on the road.
37:29He decided that it was the winter time.
37:31So they were all told to stop and build
37:34cabins for a few men each and they built
37:37nearly a thousand log huts from the mud,
37:41the rain of that area. Small pox and
37:44typhus.
37:46Dysentery moved through the camp like
37:49snow
37:51through a fire.
37:53Before spring, some 2,000 of those men
37:56were dead.
37:58Washington had told them to bury them
38:00quietly.
38:01Many of them were buried in unmarked
38:03graves because they didn't want the
38:05enemy to know that so many of them had
38:09died [music] and how weak the army had
38:12become. The British scouts were working
38:15to make sure we would be brought back
38:17under a king. So hilarious to me these
38:20no king rally. I wonder if they know
38:22where they are because they don't know
38:24the fight that we've done to get free
38:26from a king. They just need to have some
38:29history taught to them by some educated
38:31people.
38:35And of course, that kingdom had come to
38:38suppress us. And uh so they had to fight
38:42against them. And it was by every human
38:45measure
38:47a battle of failure, a starving army, a
38:50collapsing currency, a cause that was
38:53sinking into mire. And yet out of that
38:57very mire in February, General
39:00Washington brought in a Prussian drill
39:03master named Von Stuben. And he began
39:06drilling those bleeding soldiers,
39:09halfclad men in the snow, hour after
39:12hour, company by company. He drilled
39:15them like an army that couldn't whine,
39:17even though they had every reason to
39:19whine. And he turned that army and they
39:22limped from Valley Forge and he turned
39:25them into a marching army that resisted
39:28the British regulars who had warm fires
39:31and plenty of supplies. And historians
39:34will tell you that that army of the
39:36United States of America was not born on
39:39a parade ground. It was born out of the
39:42mud of marching without proper boots,
39:47without proper blankets, and they won
39:51because they were in the mire.
39:58Now, once again, I'm not trying to
40:00preach America to you, but if the Lord
40:02carries, I want you to appreciate this
40:04country.
40:08I want you to appreciate my uncle that's
40:10at the bottom of my mom's uncle is at
40:12the bottom of Pearl Harbor.
40:14I want you to appreciate those who in
40:17your family have served.
40:20I want you to value them.
40:22>> I want you to treat them well. Even the
40:24men who were in Vietnam where my uncle
40:27came back from with PTSD that was so bad
40:30and he died early from Agent Orange
40:33cancer. I want you to appreciate him
40:35even though that was the most stupid
40:37war.
40:40All wars are kind of stupid.
40:43I hate war,
40:45but there's sometimes evil has got to be
40:47stopped.
40:49A holocaust has got to be stopped. A
40:53Stalin has got to be stopped.
40:56There are causes worth fighting for and
40:58dying for. And thank God for the police
41:01in our city
41:03that will come in the middle of your
41:05crazy
41:06and try to stop crazy from going on.
41:11I know people say you're going to lose
41:12your congregation. Well, if I lose you,
41:14God bless you.
41:16Sometimes I just stop caring when I get
41:18to this age because I there's some
41:21there's some stupid in this world,
41:22folks.
41:24Can't fix stupid,
41:29but God can
41:33out of the mire,
41:36out of the muck,
41:39out of the middle of your crazy
41:43when your best friends are telling you
41:44it's over.
41:46I want to tell you, God says it's not
41:49over.
41:59Count it all joy
42:02when you enter into
42:05various temptations.
42:09Manifold is another word. Manifold. It's
42:12not on your engine.
42:13>> [snorts]
42:13>> All you men think you know where a
42:15manifold is. Well, there's a Bible word
42:17manifold.
42:19Many temptations.
42:23Shall we stand? Many temptations.
42:28What's the temptation you're carrying
42:29right now?
42:31You lose your job.
42:34That's a temptation.
42:37You're having lack of communication with
42:41your wife.
42:43There's another temptation. [snorts]
42:48Your mom's being difficult.
42:51There's a temptation.
42:56Your children aren't listening.
43:00That's a temptation.
43:04Your kids are not communicating.
43:08I've almost named everybody.
43:11That's a temptation.
43:17What are you going to do when
43:19many kinds of temptations come to you?
43:23I'll tell you what I'm going to do when
43:25I'm trying to deal with AI addictions
43:27and challenges of what's going on in the
43:31world nowadays and and still trying to
43:33find my way in the middle of the change
43:35of every generation. I'm going to come
43:37back to this house and come back to this
43:39altar and I'm going to say, Lord, I need
43:41to be filled with your Holy Spirit. I
43:44need to make sure my priorities are
43:46first for God and then secondly, if it's
43:49for God, then it's always got to be for
43:51your neighbor. You can't fall in love
43:53with God without him demanding, do you
43:55love your neighbor? Do you love your
43:57children? Do you love the one that it
43:59seems unlovable? How do you feel about
44:01them? Because that's what coming to an
44:03altar will do. You can't just come here
44:04and I love I love God and have a against
44:07your brother.
44:09You can't do it. Oh. Oh, I know some
44:13people who think they can. They're real
44:15good. They got the prayer down. They got
44:17the dance down. They can put on that
44:19dance, but they've got so many issues
44:22with their brother and they just act
44:24like it's not there. When you really
44:26come to the altar and you say, "Oh, God,
44:29talk to me." See, some of y'all think
44:31there's perfect words when you come to
44:32the altar. No, there's no perfect words.
44:34What's perfect about coming to the altar
44:36is being honest with God. Sometimes
44:39there's a prayer you need to pray that
44:40you need to cover your mouth because
44:42nobody else needs to hear it. But you
44:44need to just get it like this and say,
44:46"Oh Lord, I need you to deal with me.
44:49I'm carrying some stuff that I seems too
44:52hard for me. Oh Lord, my friends have
44:55told me it's over. My own mind doesn't
44:57know what to do. But I know you are wise
45:00and you are good and you are great." And
45:02in the middle of the mire, you're going
45:04to build me [music] up into something
45:06powerful. I know your word said that you
45:09own the end from the beginning. You are
45:11[music] the one who is the author of my
45:13life. You're the one writing my story. I
45:17refuse to let my discouragement define
45:19me. [music] I refuse to let oppression
45:22govern my mind. I refuse to allow the
45:25devil to define my marriage. I refuse
45:28these chains. I won't accept this
45:31bondage. I won't accept this oppression.
45:35I rebuke every demon that's trying to
45:37haunt my home. I rebuke every devil from
45:40hell that's trying to shut down my hope.
45:44I've come into the house of the living
45:46God. And when I come into the house of
45:49the living God, uh things [snorts]
45:51change because he's all [music]
45:52powerful. He's all knowing. He's
45:54almighty. You see how it happens? It
45:57happens when you're honest with God and
46:00you stop mumbling and you start praying
46:02and you pray like you got a brain and
46:05you pray like you got a heart and you
46:07pray like you live the truth. When you
46:09start praying like that, the Holy Ghost
46:11starts moving. Things happen in a church
46:14where people are being real because God
46:17is [screaming] real. I'm opening this
46:19altar right now. If you would like to
46:21come and talk to him,
46:30>> [music]
46:43[music]
46:46>> Heat. Heat.
46:48[music]
46:50Heat.
46:54[music]
47:03Heat. [music]
47:11Heat. Heat.
47:14[music]
47:20[music]
47:34[music]
47:35Heat. Heat.
47:43[music]
47:52[music]
47:56Heat.
48:04[music]
48:07Heat.
48:12[music]
48:16Heat. Heat.
48:25[music]
48:31[music]
48:38[music]
48:40Heat.
48:48[music]
48:55[music]
48:58Heat.
49:01[music]
49:04Heat.
49:08[music]
49:11Heat.
49:14[music]